


Old Times

by 391780 (goblinparty)



Series: Cold Wind [24]
Category: Fargo (2014)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-20
Updated: 2015-03-20
Packaged: 2018-03-18 17:16:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3577545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goblinparty/pseuds/391780
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'Just like old times.' Hammer signed with a smile.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Old Times

_Just like old times._ Hammer signed with a smile, looking more elated than was probably appropriate for the situation. A friend of Tripoli's had called in a favor, his much younger trophy wife was cheating on him and wanted to teach the asshole nailing her a lesson. Wrench and Hammer sat in the Buick, waiting for their mark to leave the bar, killing time by bullshitting and teasing each other. It had been years since they'd worked together, and while it felt a little strange not to have Numbers by his side, Wrench had to admit to himself that he felt a strange, warm sense of nostalgia having Hammer in the passenger seat next to him.

_Better than old times,_ Wrench corrected.  _Steadier work, easier to get fake ID's and doctors who don't ask questions. Plus better pay._

_Much better pay._ Hammer agreed, nodding thoughtfully, stroking the bare patch on his chin where his beard had been. They'd decided together that looking more identical than usual would be a useful intimidation tactic, which meant Hammer had to shave his beard and leave the sideburns. Hammer thought back to when they regularly put in an effort to look as identical as possible, hanging around gross bars looking for bad men who needed worse men to do their dirty work for them. They'd do a job, collect their payment, and skip over to the next town, leaving a trail of blood and broken bones in their wake. They'd go weeks without work, forcing them to sleep in the Buick, flipping a coin to see which unlucky bastard got the front seat, and when they finally did get paid they would 'splurge' on a shitty motel room, relishing in having a shower and an actual mattress. They had been younger then, and growing up dirt poor meant they were used to being hungry, tired, and dirty. By the time they had split up after a big job in Sioux Falls, they had saved up enough money that each of them had $5,000 and didn't have to worry about who got the car or which guns. For the first time in their lives, they felt wealthy, which, looking back on it, made Hammer chuckle to himself. He felt a tap on his shoulder, which focused his attention to the bar door, where a woman and a man came teetering out together, laughing with arms around waists.

_The wife is with him. What do we do? Boss said not to involve her._ Wrench looked at his brother expectantly. He knew what to do, of course, but he was curious about what his brother had learned in the years that they had been separated. Hammer glanced back at the couple, chewing his bottom lip and running his fingers through his hair.

_Follow, I guess. Wait for them to split up, grab the guy as soon as he's alone, throw him in the trunk and take him somewhere private to beat the hell out of him._ He grinned wickedly.  _Go to the rest stop up the highway._ _Should be empty this time of night._ _We pull him into the bathroom, strip him, break his foot, knock him out, and leave him here. He'll wake up the next day naked in a truck stop bathroom, he'd not gonna go to the cops, especially if he's too scared to admit why he's there._ Wrench met his brother's smile and returned it. He'd almost forgotten how delightfully creative Hammer could get sometimes. The pair watched the drunk couple make out against a lamp post in the parking lot for a few moments before a cab pulled up and the woman got inside. Alone. Hammer and Wrench shared a look and a grin before Wrench put the car in gear and slowly rolled alongside their mark. Hammer rolled down the window.

“Hey, man, it's cold out here. You need a ride?” The drunk man swayed in place for a moment, looking over Hammer thoughtfully before nodding and climbing into the backseat. The door had just barely slammed shut before Wrench sped out of the parking lot and towards the edge of town.

“Hey, don't choo need my addresh?” The man slurred. Hammer unbuckled his seatbelt and twisted around to face his prey, punching him in the face with enough force to bust the man's nose open and send him flying back against the seat. Wrench couldn't hear the screams, but he felt the warm spatter of blood hit the back of his neck and sent a dirty look Hammer's way. He'd just cleaned out the car the night before, and less than 24 hours later it was going to need hosed out again. He sighed in irritation and turned his attention back to the road as Hammer continued to wail on the drunk man in the backseat. 

Soon enough they reached an empty rest area. Wrench turned to Hammer.

_I have a new idea._ Hammer cocked an eyebrow.  _We knock him out, steal his shoes and pants and leave him further up the highway, maybe an hour out of town. Just in his coat and his socks. With any luck he'll freeze to death trying to wander back into town and the cops will look at his blood alcohol level and figure a drunk wandered into the woods, maybe fell on his face a few times, and froze to death. Better yet, take him to a lake with thin ice and force him to cross it. His body won't be found for a while if he goes under._ Hammer cocked his head and crinkled his nose.

_Orders didn't say we had to kill him, we just need to spook him._

_Orders didn't say we need to leave him alive, either. What if he's even more stupid than we anticipate and he goes to the cops anyways? Or worse, he keeps fucking that bimbo and we've failed our jobs, and we have to answer to Tripoli? Less chance of failure if he dies._ Hammer nodded thoughtfully, and started to raise his hands before letting them fall into his lap. He turned to open the car door when Wrench grabbed his arm and turned him back around.

_You were going to say something. What?_ Hammer chewed the inside of his cheek in hesitation.

_You're colder than you used to be is all. I expect Numbers is to blame for that._

_**Blame?** More like thank. Weren't you on his side those few weeks ago? With the kid? You both made it clear there's no room for compassion here, that shit gets you killed. Why is it OK to you that a kid dies but for some reason you think this idiot- _ he jerked his thumb towards the backseat-  _should live?_ Hammer threw his hands up and cowered slightly in surrender.

_You're right, you're right. I'm just not used to seeing you be this way is all._ Hammers face looked a little sad.  _It really has been a long time since we've done this, huh?_ Wrench pursed his lips and nodded.

_So we agree? Take him out to the middle of nowhere and let him freeze?_ Hammer nodded, and Wrench pulled out of the copper glow of lights illuminating the rest area and back into the pitch black of the night. 

They drove into the late hours of the night, not stopping until it had been a good hour and a half out of town. Hammer stepped out of the car momentarily, climbing into the backseat and checking the man's pulse. Still alive, for now. He unbuckled the man's pants, sliding them down skinny, pale thighs before recoiling. Their mark hadn't been wearing underwear, and Hammer fought the urge to dry-heave over the sight of unexpected cock. He caught sight of Wrench rolling his eyes and flipped him off, earning him a low, hoarse laugh.

_You're such a baby. It's just a dick. It's not even hard._

_Doesn't mean I want to see it._ Wrench chuckled again, shaking his head. If any of Numbers' stories about Letters were true, he'd imagine she'd knock the prude right out of him in no time. 

Hammer took off the man's ratty, generic athletic shoes and dragged the unconscious man out of the backseat by the ankles, allowing Wrench to grab the man's wrists. They swung him like a hammock a few times to gain momentum before letting go, sending the half-naked drunk flying before he landed hard in the snowbank off the side of the road. Both brothers stood silently, staring at the immobile lump lying face-down in the pile of dirty snow for a few moments before climbing back into the car and making a quick u-turn to head back towards town. Hammer grabbed the man's jeans and rifled through the pockets, quickly finding the wallet and emptying it, splitting up the cash in his lap. Eventually Wrench pulled up to an address that Jergen had texted him, and Hammer jumped out of the car, placing the frozen man's drivers license under the welcome mat, rushing to jump back into the car before they could be spotted. They quickly found a small, ratty, cash-only motel and checked in for the night, ordering a pizza and flipping through TV channels before eventually falling asleep.

The next morning, Wrench woke up to Hammer shaking him awake and pointing to the TV, which was turned on to a local news station. The captions tumbled onto the screen, black bars filled with white text and numerous misspellings, toppling on top of each other like tetris pieces.

_...Temperatures had dropped to 17 below zero late Friday night when the man was found with a lightweight jacket and no pants, shoes, or hat. Police Chief Brian Knudson says it's not known how long the 28-year-old man had been outside in the brutal cold before finally collapsing in a snowbank. He was last seen by witnesses leaving a local tavern with an unidentified woman, both of whom were reportedly visibly intoxicated. A long distance truck driver called in the body after checking for vital signs and realizing the man was dead. Police are asking if anyone has any information...  _ Hammer turned off the TV.

_Your plan worked._

_Are you surprised?_

_No, not surprised, but still impressed._ He stared at his feet for a moment before continuing.  _I'm sorry about yesterday. I guess I felt a little weird because... it's like I don't know you anymore. You changed. We both did, I guess. It's just weird, I thought we could pick this up, have it be just like it used to, but we've both gotten sharper, meaner, better at hurting and killing. I can deal with being a more vicious prick than I used to be, but seeing you be someone so... different... it's disorienting. It wasn't that long ago that you were a bit more of a softie. I miss that about you, I guess._ Wrench nodded thoughtfully.

_I know what you mean. When I saw you, I was so relieved you were alive and OK, but I had hoped you and that girl from Sioux Falls had maybe gotten out of this life, had kids, done the suburbia thing. I was a little sad to see you still doing this shit. I guess we both just wanted each other to be better than this._

_But we're not._

_No, we're not. But we're together again, so whatever else goes on, at least we have that._ Wrench stood up and clapped his brother on the shoulder, the only physical sign of affection Hammer would allow from another man.  _I'm gonna take a shower, and then we should get back to Fargo as soon as possible. I'm kind of impatient to get back to Numbers, and I'm sure you're missing Letters._ Hammer pulled a face that Wrench couldn't quite decipher.

_We- it's not like that with us._ Wrench cocked his head.

_Oh?_

_She doesn't want a relationship, so we're just sort of ...messing around. She's been seeing that Australian dude too, which I guess is OK but..._ he shrugged.  _I don't know how I feel about any of it. I like her a **lot** , don't get me wrong, but I know if I ask her to be my girlfriend she'll drop me, and I don't want that, so I have to kind of be content with the whole fuckbuddy thing, which normally I wouldn't mind but... _ He shook his head, like his mind was a messed up etch-a-sketch that needed clearing.  _I don't know. It's complicated. I'm not resentful or anything, I just hate feeling like I'm expendable. Not important._ He sighed and shrugged.  _Sorry, I don't think you want to hear this stuff._

_You got to hear me whine about Numbers for over a week, so believe me when I say I don't mind. Do you want Numbers to talk to Letters for you?_ Hammer shot him a nasty look.

_You leave him out of this._ Wrench laughed and raised his hands in surrender.

_OK, OK, but if we can help, just ask, alright?_ He patted Hammer's shoulder again and headed off to the bathroom. He chuckled to himself. So Hammer was having girl problems again, huh? More specifically, the problem of being more in love than she was with him. This was, what, the third or fourth time this had happened to him? And once more he'd come to Wrench to vent, find comfort and solace, and when it all inevitably blew up he'd come to Wrench again. He shook his head in amusement as he stripped off his clothes and stepped into the shower. It was amazing how they had both changed so much and so little all at the same time.

 


End file.
